Singapore Presses Ahead with Smart Nation despite Hack Attack

Singapore is a leader in smart technology adoption with its Smart Nation program, which aims to turn the city-state into the world’s top smart tech user. It has allocated $100 million for big data analytics and artificial intelligence research. But cybersecurity is becoming a growing concern, which was only to be expected. AI is a top priority for the Singapore government. Recently, krASIA reports, it partnered with ride hailing service Grab, which in July announced the setting up of a research lab for artificial intelligence jointly with the national University of Singapore with the goal of solving road transport issues such as travel times and traffic congestion in Southeast Asia. The joint investment is around $4.4 million. The government is also encouraging other public-private partnerships with a view to advancing its AI agenda further as well as training programs for experts in the field. There are hopes that in the future, the city-state would be able to not just boast its top performance in smart technology but also export smart products internationally. And yet cyberthreats have reared their heads already. In July, hackers stole 1.5 million non-medical records and 160,000 prescription histories from Singapore healthcare services provider SingHealth. This is shaping up to be the most serious cyberattack in Singapore in terms of size to date but the government is not backing away from its smart tech agenda. In a media statement after the attack, PM Lee Hsien Loong acknowledged the risks related to smart tech but said once you go digital there is no going back to paper records. Rather, cybersecurity should move up the priority list. Singapore is already reaping the fruit of its smart efforts. AI-related research originating in the city state is the second most-cited in the world after research from Switzerland and ahead of Japan and the US, but Singapore also scored top marks in the global smart city index in all four categories, including mobility, health, safety, and productivity. Cybersecurity will likely remain a challenge but the Singapore PM is right in that once you move to smart tech there can hardly be going back given all the benefits smart technology brings with it. For now, these greatly outweigh the risks. With the appropriate and timely cybersecurity measures, this state of affairs could continue. https://kr-asia.com/in-smart-nation-singapore-a-shift-to-smart-and-secure